Check-protector.



I. ENGSTROM.

CHECK PROTECTOR. APPLICATION FILED JULY 21.1913.

Patented Oct. 9, 1917.

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I. ENGSTROM.

CHECK PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 2I. I9I3.

1,242,162. l l I Patented Oct. 9,1917.

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l. E NGSTROM. CHECK PROTECTOR. A APPLICATION msu :uw 21. 1913.

1,242,162. Patented oet. 9,1917. '4 SHEETS-SHEET a.

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CHECK PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 2I. 1913.

1,242,162. Patented oI. 9,1917.

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IVAN ENGSTBOM, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0CARL M. HEDMAN AND HERBERT R. HEDMAN, BOTH 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CHECK-PROTECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oet. 9, 1917.

Application tiled July 21, 1913. Serial No. 780,121.

To aZZ .whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVAN ENGsTnoM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, `in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Check-Protectors, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a partof thisspecification. p

My invention relates to an improved check protector by which the exactamount of the check is printed or embossed in the check, and incombination with the devices for accomplishing this result I provi ieregistering mechanism for adding or summating the amounts of the checksprotected or written-by themachine, so that the reading of theregistering mechanism at any time indicates -the total amount ofthechecks protected. Suitable devices are also provided for resetting the'registering mechanism to zero when desired.

In carrying out my invention I employ a plurality of printing devices,one for each order of units, each of 'which may be set to a printup'onor' emboss inthe check any desired digit of the corresponding orderof units, and thus when'these various devices are set to'indicate theamount of the check, the exactA amount in dollars and cents is set upready to be printed upon or embossed in the check by the operatinghandle provided for moving the printing or embossing digits against thecheck. The mechanism for each order of units is connected with aregisterwheel constituting a part of the registering mechanism in such amanner that theseg-` ting of the protecting mechanism moves theregister-wheel a corresponding amount,

without, however, leaving a permanent addition to the previousindication of thenumerel-wheel until the protecting mechanism is movedagainst the check in the protecting operation, as a result of which anyamount of motion in either direction may be given to the protectingmembers without this motion of itself adding a permanent amount totheyindication of the registering mechanism, and thus in case of anerror occurring in setting the protecting mechanism to a desired value,it may be corrected and at the same time effect the same correction inthe indication of the registering mechanism.

These and other objects of my invention will appear more fully from thedrawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View takentransversely through the shaft supporting the protecting mechanisms,this view being taken along the line 1, 1 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the machine at rightangles to the plane of the section of Fig. 1, this view being takenalong the line 2, 2 in Fig. 1;

-Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the mechanism employed for Operating theregisterlng mechanism from the protecting device, this view being takenalong the line 3, 3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view showing 4in rear elevation themechanism employed to carry over from one order of the registeringmechanism to another when a mechanism of lower order completes a cycleof its operation;

F ig. 5 is a top view of a portion of the casing of the machine showingthe indications of the registering mechanism and the protecting devices;

Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views of printing blocks used upon either endof the line of protecting digits to prevent changing the amount printedupon or embossed in the check by these devices;

Fig. 8 is a detail view of one of the indicating strips connected with aprotecting mechanism to indicate the amount to which it is set; and

Fig. 9 shows an amount as printed upon or embossed in a check by themachine.

' Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the protecting mechanism of the machineconsists of a plurality of disks 1, to each of which is secured asector' 2, carrying type representing digits from 0 to 9, inclusive.From the upper portion of each disk 1 an arm 3 eX- tends through a slotL formed therefor in ion the casing 5 of the machine and terminates 1n aflat finger-piece 6. The arm 3 has secured to it an indicating strip 7for showing through a sight opening 8 1n the casmg' the particular oneof the digits carried-by the sector 2 which is in the printing ore'mbossing position. vided with a plurality of notches Q'tobe engaged bya detent spring 10 rigidly secured to the brackets 11 and 12 extendingrear- The disk 1 is lso pm n 16 extending transversely of themachinethrough its casing and through bosses formed upon the upper endsof these plates. In this manner the plates 13 and 14 and the partscarried thereby are prevented from movin angularly around the shaft.

Eac of the arms 3 has secured to it a .rack 17 engaging a gear 18loosely mounted upon a transverse shaft 19. The gear 18, as clearlyindicated in Fig. 1, has pivoted to it a pawl 19 held in position by asuitable spring against the inner surface of an internal ratchet 2Ocarried by a disk 21 also loosely mounted upon the shaft 19. The disk 21has formed thereon a hub to which one end of a spring 22 is secured, theother end of such spring being secured to the inner surface of a counterbore formed in the register-wheel 23 for receiving such spring. Wheneither' the disk 21 or the register-wheel 23 is free to rotate, thespring 22 rotates this free member until a pin 24, carried by the disk21, is brought into engagement with a pin 25 carried by theregister-wheel 23. The register-wheel 23 is provided with an externalratchet 26 engaged by a holding pawl 27 and a carry-over pawl 28, asmore clearly indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. The brackets 11 and 12 supportat their rear ends, one above the other, two transverse rods 29 and 30,and upon these rods is mounted a sliding plate 31 for each one of theregister-wheels except the registerwheel of highest order. Suitableslots are provided in these plates 31 so that they may move verticallyrelatively to the rods 29 and 30 for the purpose of actuating aregisterwheel of higher order when the registerwheel of next lower ordercompletes a cycle of its operation in a manner to be described. Each ofthe plates 31 is normally held in its uppermost position by a latch 32pivoted upon a rod 33 extending transversely of the machine between thebrackets 34 supported `from the base 35 of the machine.

The casing 5 of the machine and the parts carried thereby are pivotallymounted upon a transverse rod 36, as a result of which when the varioustype sectors 2 are set to the proper position the printing handle 37 maybe depressed, and as this handle is pivoted at 38 to a member 39extending upwardly from the brackets 34 secured to the base of themachine and is connected by a link 40 with the casing 5, the downward AVmotion of the handle moves the casing downward, and thus brings thetype which are in printing position forcibly against the platen 41,printing or embossing u on the paper or check that ma be above t e platethe desired amount. he platen 41 may have any desired construction toeffect the printin or embossin operation, as for exam le, 1t may be ma eof resilient material suc as rubber of proper consistency so as to(yield under the type pressed a ainst it an thus force the paper againstt e type, or the platen may have corrugations or ridges cut upon itmeshing with corresponding corrugations or ridges upon the type to cutor tear the paper and thus make an impression in the paper or checkwhich cannot be erased. An lnk pad 42 is provided below the type andthis ink pad is supported by i arms 43 held upwardly by suita e springsagainst the cam surfaces 44 when the printing handle 37 is in itsuppermost position. The arms 43 are pivoted at 45 to the crank arms 46mounted-upon the shaft 15, which crank arms are provided with shortrearwardly extending arms having sliding engagement by a pln-and-slotconnection with the forwardly extending brackets 47 secured to the base35 of the machine. a result of the construction just described, when theprinting arm 37 is moved downward the crank arm 46 is moved to the left,and the rollers upon the ends of the arms 43 lby following the camsurfaces 44, which are rigidly secured to the base 35, lirst bring theink pad 42 into engagement with the type which are in position to printand then move the ink pad away from said type and swing it sufficientlytothe rear of the type to permit them to move downward into engagementwith the check to be protected without interference from the ink pad.The parts are so proportioned, as indicated, that a sto shoulder 48 onthe lower end of each cranl; arm 46 prevents the corresponding arm 43from moving upward too far to engage the cam 44 when the printing lever37 1s again moved to its upper position.

The base 35 of the machine has mounted therein a supply roll 49 ofpaper, and from this supply roll the paper extends around and betweenthe feeding rolls 50 and 51, which, as well as the supply roll 49, aremounted upon shafts extending transversely 'of the machine. The feedingroll 51 is provided u on one end with a ratchet wheel 52 engage by a awl53 carried by a crank arm 54, which artlculates at its lower end with alink 55. The other end of the link 55 is pivotally secured to a bellcrank device 56 pivotally mounted upon the base at 57 and which is alsopivotally connected with the lower end of a link 58, the upper end ofwhich is pivoted to the casing 5. As a result of the constructiondescribed for each downward motion of the casing 5 resulting from theoperation of the printing lever 37, the pawl 53 is moved varound to theright atl -26 formed on the register-wheels.

and engages the next tooth on the ratchet wheel 52, and therefore whenthe casing 5 is raised again by the returning spring 59, when theprinting handle or lever 37 1s released, the feeding rolls 50 'and 51are rotated and the record strip 60 is moved alon one step. This recordstrip, therefore, a fords a means for making a permanent record of theamounts printed or embossed by the machine upon the checks.

From the above description it will be observed that for each downwardmotion of the casing 5 the rods 29 and 30 move downwardwith the brackets11 and 12, since the latter are supported directly from the casing v5.The bracket 34, however, remains stationary, since it isl supported fromthe base of the machine. The pivot 61 ofthe holding pawl 27 is supportedby an upward extenslon from the plate 31. Each holding awl is extendedbelow the pivot 61 in the orm of a hook, as indicated Vat 62, so thatwhen the rod 29 is moved downwardly it engages these hooks and moves theholding pawls 27 from engagement with the ratchets Assuming, therefore,that the type sectors 2 are moved to the desired positions by means ofthe finger-pieces 6 so as to print the desired amount, it will beunderstood that the gears 18 are moved a corresponding amount. At thistime, however, the corresponding register-wheels are held againstrotation by the holding pawls 27 and the springs 22 are placed undertension, the pins 24 and 25 for each register-wheel being separated fromeach other by an amount corresponding to the setting of thecorresponding type sector 2. When the casing 5 is moved downward l inthe printin operation, the rod 29 engages all of the hol ing pawls 27and moves them from engagement with the ratchets 26.V

Springs 63 are provided to engage the ratchets 26 to hold them in anyposition to which theyl may be moved by the springs 22 when ltheholdingv pawls 27 are moved to a releasing position. These springs 63are weaker than the springs 69 and therefore allow the ratchets 26 to beadvanced when the pins 24 and 25 are separate. When the type sectors arereturned to their normal positions the ratchets 26 and thus the registerwheels are held by the spring 63 against rotation. Since the gears 18are held against rotation while the holding pawls 27 are in releasedposition by means of the detent springs 10, it will be seen that theregister-wheels are moved by the springs 22 to add to their previousindications each an amount corresponding to the setting of thecorresponding type sector 2.

When any one of the register-wheels except the one of highest ordercompletes a cycle of its operation, that is for the construction shownin the drawings a complete rotation, the register-Wheel of next higherorder is advanced one step or unit by means of the following mechanism:Each sliding plate 31 is normall held in upper position y the latch 32,w ich is provided with a hook-32 engaging a shoulder 31n for thispurpose. The upper end of the latch 32 is extended and normally restsupon the periphery of the corres ondingregister-Wheel 23, the up er endo said latch being continued to orm a cam surface to be engaged by thepin 6.3 when the register-wheel 23 A is rotated a sufficient amount tobring said pin under the upper end of said latch. The engagement of thepin and the upper end of the latch 32 causes an amount of motion of thelatch sufficient to release the plate 31, at which time the plate ldrops'slightly so that a shoulder 64 formed near its lower end engages thelug 65 carried by the latch 66 mounted upon the rod 67, extendingtransversely of the machine between the brackets 34. The plateor plates31 released in the manner just described remain in the position referredto upon the lug or'lugs 65 until the rod 30 engages the upper end of thelatch 66, which is so conformed that byengagement with lthe rod 30it-'is moved to the right todisengage the'lu 65 fronrthe correspondingplate 31, for which condition the plate 31 moves downward underits ownweight and the action of the spring 68, carrying with it the carry-overpawl 28, which is in engagement with the'ratchet 26 of theregister-wheel of next higher order than that corresponding to theplate. 31, which is moved downward. In this manner the saidregister-wheel of next higher order is advanced one step. The return ofthe casing 5 to its upper position moves the various parts to theirinitial position, thus causing the rengagement of the lates 31 by theirlatches 32, and the holdmg pawls 27 are again moved into engagement withtheir ratchets: 26.

ing of the registering mechanism and the registering mechanism thusconstitutes a totalizer for showing the total value of the checksprotected or Written by the machine during any desired interval. Theshaft 19 has formed longitudinally in it a ratchetshaped slot 19a forengagement with a spring pawl 69 carried by each register-wheel, andwhen desired, by rotating lthe shaft 19 by this manner thetotalizing-reg1ster ma carries a block 71 carryingfuitable type,

as for example, the word ollars, as 1ndicated in Fig. 7 To fill up theprinting line in front of the highest order of each amount printed orembossed upon the check the lower end of the plate 13 has slidablymounted upon it a block 72, carrying any suitable type, as for example,`the words Not over, as indicated in Fig. 6. This sliding block issupported upon the lower edge of the plate 113 by means of a T-shapedton ue-and-groove construction, as indicated in ig. 1, and the block hasformed in its side a vertical groove 73 engaged by the lower end of aspring bell crank lever 74 pivotally supported. upon the plate 13 at 75.The upper arm of the bell crank 74 is engaged by the upper end of alever 76 pivotally supported at .77 from the bracket 11, the lower endof `such lever being in sliding engagement at 78 with the bracket 47, asa result of which when .the casing 5 is moved downwardly the sprmg bellcrank lever is placed under tension and moves the sliding block 72 tothe left, as

seen in Fig. 2, as far as it will go-that is,

against the side of the t pe sector o f the highest order employed orthe particular amount for which the machine is set. v When the casing 5is moved upward the bell crank lever 74 again moves the lsliding block72 to the right, for the arrangement of parts shown in Fig. 2, out ofthe way of all of the type sectors. It will be understood that anydesired designation may be placed upon' the blocks 71 and .'72, as forexample, the

word Dollars may be placed upon the block 72, and any desiredconventional sign may be placed upon the block 71, as zigzag lines, orany other characters desired.

Fig. 8 shows in detail view one of the indicator strips 7 connected tothe arm 3, by which the setting of the arm is indicated through thesight opening 8. Fig. 9 shows anindication of the result of printin orembossing a check or paper by means o the machine.

I do not claim in the present invention broadly the construction ofcheck protector* per se shown and described herein, as this 0 in itsbroadest conce tion forms the subject matter of a co-pen ing applicationSerial No. 726,674, filed October 19, 1912. The present application islimited to certain features of 2,improvement upon the co-pendingapplication referred to, and relates broadly to the combination with acheck protector or check writer of an adding machine for indicating thetotal amount or value of the checks written or protected during anydesired intervals. It will be understood that as the machine prints orembosses the exact amount upon the aper or check, it may be used ifdesired or writing the check, and that it therefore constitutes a checkwriter and protector. Furthermore, since the ink employed is indelibleand by the embossing or tearing operation referred to the ink is carriedinto the fiber' of the paper, the protection afforded is reliable, sinceit is cX- tremely difficult, if not impossible, to remove the ink fromthe fiber of the paper after it has been carried into the same in themanner referred to.

While I have shown my invention in the particular embodiment hereinshown and described, it will be understood that I do not limit myself tothese constructions, as I may employ other equivalent constructionswithout departing from the spirit of my invention, as for example, otherforms of registering mechanism may be employed, the only essential beingthat they be driven from the protecting members so as to add thesuccessive indications printed upon or embossed by means of the machine.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, ordered setting devices, a permanent register havinga numeral wheel for each of theHsetting devices, a gear variablyoperated by each setting device, a spring connection between each gearand a corresponding permanent register numeral wheel, means forpreventing the rotation of the numeral wheels during the settingoperation of the setting devices, and mechanism for releasing thenumeral wheels to permit the springs to advance them amountscorresponding to the actuations of the setting devices.

2. A device of the class described comprising a base, a casing carriedby the base, a set of pivotally'mounted key levers supported by thecasing, each of said key levers having a segmental die and a segmentaldriving rack on opposite sides of its pivotal point, said dies arrangedwhen operated to make a noneradicable impression on a check, atotalizer, mechanism for receiving energy from said driving racks andsubsequently imparting it to the totalizer, and a lever for moving thecasing with respect to the base to effect the operation of the printingdies and control the actuation of said mechanism to advance thetotalizer an amount corresponding to the positions of the several keylevers.

3. A combined adding machine and check protector comprising a pluralityof key levers, each of said key levers having fixed thereto a printingdie and a segmental driving rack, a plurality of numeral wheels, ac-

tuating mechanism for said numeral wheels in driven relation to saidracks, said actuating mechanism arranged to recelve energy drivenrelation to said racks, said actuating mechanism arranged to receiveenergy from said racks and subsequently impart it to said totalizer, andmechanism for simultaneously operating the printing dies and controllingthe actuating mechanism to advance the t0- talizer an amountcorresponding to the positions of the several printing dies.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 12th day of July,A. D. v1913.

IVAN ENGSTROM. Witnesses ALBERT C. BELL, AUGUST H. L. ARNDT.

